"The Student as Variable": How Faculty Perceptions of Student (In)competence Drive Teaching Choices

Research on digital pedagogy in higher education has traditionally emphasized faculty deficits as the primary barrier to innovation. This qualitative pilot study reverses that lens by examining how faculty perceptions of student (in)competence shape pedagogical and assessment choices in the post-pandemic university. Using critical discourse analysis, the study analyzes open-ended survey responses from a purposive sample of five university professors across Southern Europe. The findings reveal a pervasive “pedagogy of mistrust,” in which students are constructed either as passive, disengaged learners or as potential cheaters. These deficit attributions function as justificatory mechanisms for abandoning interactive tools, reinforcing teacher-centered instruction, and adopting surveillance-based or oral assessment practices. In contrast, faculty who perceive students as capable of higher-order thinking are more likely to design authentic, process-oriented assessments that reduce incentives for dishonesty. The study argues that faculty perceptions of students operate as a hidden variable mediating digital adoption, often outweighing technological or pedagogical competence. Addressing digital transformation therefore requires not only skills development, but also a reframing of faculty assumptions about student agency and integrity. While exploratory, the analysis highlights trust as a critical and underexamined dimension of sustainable digital pedagogy in higher education.